Share This Story!

Attorney: Inspection shows carnival ride not defective

EL PASO - The carnival ride that ejected a 16-year-old Hanks High School student over the weekend and killed her was operating properly and was not defective, an attorney representing the carnival operator said Tuesday.

Attorney: Inspection shows carnival ride not defective

Hanks High School students Olivia Martinez, left, and Adelyn Galvan hold each other recently as they gather with classmates to remember Samantha Aguilar, 16, who died after an accident April 29 on the Sizzler carnival ride at a Día de los Niños celebration at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Students released hundreds of red balloons with messages tied to the strings.(Photo: MARK LAMBIE/EL PASO TIMES)Buy Photo

EL PASO - The carnival ride that ejected a 16-year-old Hanks High School student over the weekend and killed her was operating properly and was not defective, an attorney representing the carnival operator said Tuesday.

“We didn’t have any doubt that it was not defective,” said Robert Skipworth, an attorney for Las Cruces-based Playtime Amusements, operator of the ride. “It had been inspected” and had a sticker on it certifying it was safe.

Samantha Aguilar, a Hanks track athlete and top student, was killed Friday when the "Sizzler" ride ejected her and a friend. Aguilar was taken to Del Sol hospital and died from her injuries, police said. Her 17-year-old friend suffered minor injuries. Officials initially had reported the injured girl's age as 15. A third girl on the ride was not thrown and wasn't injured.

Aguilar was attending the Día de Los Niños fair at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on the East Side.

An insurance inspector examined the ride after the accident and determined is was not defective, Skipworth said. Attempts to reach the insurance inspector late Tuesday were unsuccessful.

“The state inspector looked at the ride and there were no defects,” Skipworth said.

Ben Gonzalez, of the Texas Department of Insurance, said Monday the ride was in compliance with state mandates for carnival rides. “All amusement ride operators are required to have an annual inspection and $1 million liability insurance, Gonzalez said.

The ride was inspected during the weekend, dismantled and carted away Monday, Skipworth said.

It was on loan to Playtime Amusements from Moores Greater Shows, which is based in Lyfort, Texas.

“It is Moores’ property; it has been returned to Moores,” Skipworth said.

Playtime had in turn lent a ride to Moores for evaluation in a possible exchange. “Playtime has retrieved its equipment,” he said.

“The incident was devastating,” he said, adding that the owners of Playtime Amusements “are distraught.”

The owners of Playtime Amusements have not reached out to the Aguilar family, and the family has not made contact with Playtime Amusements either, Skipworth said.

Despite saying that preliminary reports showed the ride was not defective, El Paso Diocese Bishop Mark J. Seitz called for a temporary moratorium Tuesday on the use of mechanical rides at all church functions after Aguilar was killed. The church moratorium will remain in effect until further notice, according to a news release from the diocese.

“For the diocese to cancel all carnivals, they are just being conservative, as Catholic churches are,” Skipworth said.

Elizabeth O’Hara, diocese spokeswoman, said in an email: “We will not be making a statement at this time regarding the moratorium.”

She added, “The diocese continues to grieve the loss of 16-year-old Samantha Aguilar. We pray for her, her family and the other two girls who were with Samantha that night.”

Additionally, carnival rides scheduled for this weekend at the El Paso County Coliseum were postponed in light of Aguilar’s death. The carnival might be postponed until the end of summer.

“We just kind of felt that it would be more appropriate to postpone it,” said Brian Kennedy, president and CEO of the El Paso Sports Commission, which manages the coliseum.